U.S. Congress Votes to Stop DEA Raids on Medical Marijuana, No Thanks to Missouri Reps

In what is being hailed as a historic step forward for marijuana law reform, the U.S. Congress has voted in favor of an amendment that could end Drug Enforcement Agency raids on medical marijuana facilities -- but don't give much credit to Missouri's representatives.

Twenty-one states have laws to allow marijuana for medicinal use, but the drug is still illegal under federal law and the DEA conducts regular raids on facilities that produce or sell it. However, California Republican Dana Rohrenbacher's amendment, which passed 219 to 189, prohibits the Department of Justice, including the DEA, from spending funds to obstruct states from implementing their own marijuana laws.

Of the 219 "yes" votes, 49 were Republican -- the highest vote count from the GOP for similar legislation (different versions of this bill have been proposed seven times since 2003, according to the Marijuana Policy Project).

However, Missouri's Republicans weren't a big part of this momentous swing in favor of reform. Six of the Show-Me state's eight representatives are Republican and only one voted in favor of it: Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Missouri's 3rd District, which includes Chesterfield, O'Fallon, and Jefferson City.

Three representatives did not vote. They are Republican Vicky Hartzler and Democrats Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver.

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the greatest plant in the universe is almost free, LET FREEDOM RING! 13

1000s of my friends and family have grown 30-99 plants for 20 years, thanks for keeping prices high and NORCAL wealthy...#1 crop in cali = $15 Billion Untaxed...

"any doctor against marijuana is a doctor of death" - cali secret 420

from 0 states to half the country, from low 20% approval to almost 70%, cali runs this planet by 2 decades, time to tie marijuana to the 2014, 2016 elections, out with the old, in with the new

20 years behind us southern states, sad and scary....nobody denies freedoms like the south, nobody…the top ten incarcerators on the planet are southern states and more blacks are in prison then were slaves before the civil war...even if marijuana reforms did pass the republiCANTS in charge would deny you all your freedoms, centuries of practice...no matter though, we never planned on getting your backwards brethren from day one, half the country already but not one southern state, lol...not 1….the new generations are taking over in the south and they are nothing like their freedom denying parents, let’s ride…

Deaths by Alcohol: MillionsDeaths by Tobacco: MillionsDeaths by Prescription Drugs: Quadrupled in last decadeDeaths by Guns: MillionsDeaths by the food we are fed: MillionsDeaths by Marijuana: 0, ever...they are killing my American family while denying freedom

There's a mistake in the 5th paragraph where Ann Wagner is listed as not voting. The very next paragraph says Ann voted "no," & the chart on the second page lists Vicky Hartzler as the Republican that didn't vote.